A full two years later, The Times is finally addressing the loophole. Apparently, Joe Coscarelli at New York Magazine was the first to notice that deleting the characters no longer offered free access, and he was eventually apple to confirm with a Times rep:
When we launched our digital subscription plan we knew there were loopholes to access our content beyond the allotted number of articles each month. We have made some adjustments and will continue to make adjustments to optimise the gateway by implementing technical security solutions to prohibit abuse and protect the value of our content.
Of course, there are most definitely other ways to circumvent the newspaper’s subscription fee (clearing your cache, for instance), but this move is just another sign that the days of free, unlimited content are winding down. [New York Magazine via Mashable]
" and he was eventually apple to confirm with a Times rep"
*able
Technically this is hacking under both AUS and US legislation. Don't get me wrong here, this hacking is a serious criminal offense that will get a prison term.
I used to work in network security and then internet security. I had to give up internet security due to changes in AUS legislation which made it a criminal offense for me to do many of the things that need to be done to protect a server from hackers. Even some forms of security testing became a criminal offense even if I am acting on behalf of the client, server owner or lessor.
Now that internet security for all Australians is distantly on the governments radar, I wonder how long it will be before the government realizes that it's their legislation that has destroyed the very skill base needed to provide such security.
To put this into context, bypassing the NYT paywall in the way you have described will get an Australian 1 to 5 years imprisonment even if they we being employed by the NYT for the purpose of testing security.
The same act by an American will get nothing if they were employed to do so and up to 25 years if they were not employed to do so.
Chrome - open incognito